Walmart Shares Rise 0.2% Following Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) saw its shares increase by 0.2% in mid-day trading on Wednesday. This rise follows an upgrade by Evercore ISI, which raised its price target for the stock from $94.00 to $96.00, maintaining an outperform rating.

During trading, Walmart's stock peaked at $93.74 before closing at $93.70. The company exchanged a total of 3,723,721 shares, which is significantly lower than the average trading volume of 16,826,482 shares, marking a decline of 78%. The previous closing price of the stock was $93.51.

Recent Analyst Opinions

Additional research firms have also offered positive reports regarding Walmart. TD Cowen raised its target price from $90.00 to $100.00, designating the stock as a "buy" in a report published on November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus similarly increased its price target from $85.00 to $89.00, giving it a "hold" rating. Bank of America set a higher target price of $105.00 from an earlier estimate of $95.00 while maintaining a "buy" rating. Meanwhile, DA Davidson lifted its target from $75.00 to $85.00, reaffirming a "buy" rating. Guggenheim provided an upgraded price target of $100.00 on the same day.

Overall, among equity research analysts, two rated the stock as a hold, twenty-nine issued buy ratings, and one designated a strong buy. According to MarketBeat.com, the consensus rating for Walmart is "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $92.11.

Insider Trading Activities

In related news, Walmart's senior vice president David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated November 27th, receiving an average price of $91.45, totaling $512,120.00. Chojnowski now holds 87,404 shares valued at around $7,993,095.80, reflecting a 6.02% decrease in his position. This transaction was reported to the SEC.

Furthermore, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares on September 5th at an average price of $76.96, which brought in $182,823,328.48. After this sale, Walton owns approximately 619 million shares worth about $47.69 billion, which is a 0.38% reduction in her ownership of the stock. In total, company insiders have sold 9,673,023 shares in the past three months, with insider ownership standing at roughly 45.58%.

Institutional Investor Activity

Several institutional investors have adjusted their holdings in Walmart recently. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake by 3.3% in the third quarter, owning 87,617,409 shares valued at approximately $7.05 billion. FMR LLC also raised its holdings by 12.9%, acquiring more than 63 million shares valued at $5.1 billion. Additionally, Fisher Asset Management and Franklin Resources both boosted their stakes in Walmart.

Walmart's Financial Performance

The company has reported a 50-day moving average price of $83.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.44, resulting in a market capitalization of $753.59 billion. Walmart's P/E ratio stands at 38.45, and the PEG ratio is 4.40. Recently, the retailer announced its quarterly earnings results, revealing earnings of $0.58 per share, surpassing the expected $0.53 per share. Walmart also reported revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, exceeding analyst estimates of $167.69 billion, marking a 5.5% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

Company Overview

Walmart Inc. is engaged in operating retail, wholesale, and eCommerce globally, functioning through three primary segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. The company operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, and various other retail formats under the Walmart brand, alongside eCommerce platforms and mobile applications.

Walmart, Trading, Analyst